The Answers...

Lately I've had numerous people ask me why I've chosen this frugal lifestyle as a "couponer." I am questioned about how much time is involved, and whether or not I "really save that much money?" Another question was, do I buy a bunch of stuff I will never use, & do I have a stockpile that would last me a life time, or two? The answer to this is...No. I only buy items that I have a use for, and if I get something for free and don't use it, it gets donated or given to a friend that does have a use for it. Paying it forward, so to speak. How many papers do I buy? Surely I must spend more on papers then I save, right? No...I only buy a couple papers a week, and if the inserts are good, I will get more later at discounted price. The price of the Sunday paper in my area is $2.00, so I'm sure the savings in coupons is extremely higher than that. I'm not spending tons of money on papers, and I recycle the papers that I buy. What tickles me the most are those people behind me in the grocery line who snarl, and sigh whenever I pull out my coupons. However, they are the first to grab me in the parking lot and ask how I do it. This is when I hand them my Bluegrass Bargain Bin card. Hehehe.  For all of you "negative Nancy's" out there; after much consideration, I have decided to start keeping track of my savings via an excel spreadsheet for the month of March. This spreadsheet will include all my grocery savings, freebies, sweepstakes & instant win game awards, etc... I feel like if I said a rough estimate of about 400.00 a month in savings would be correct that some people would still need proof. So proof they shall have. Time cost? Well, I spend a lot of time on the computer searching for deals, match-ups, sweeps and the like. Time however is not in question for me personally...the inter-webs is a place I feel comfortable...it is my playground and I know it well. I have acquired many relationships here, some that have lasted 10 years or more. So time here does not play into my scenario as I would probably be here anyway; even if I wasn't deal hunting. The lifestyle I live isn't for everyone. I admit that it can be a time consumer if you let it be, but even if you just clipped those Sunday paper coupons and saved $20.00 a week on items, that's still an amazing $1040.00 a year that you've saved your family! Was that time worth it? What could you do with that money? Think about it, and decide if living this lifestyle is for you and remember that it's your money, and you control how much of it you give away. Have a great day!